Sunday, April 28

Happy Sunday, everyone! I just got back from The Big Traveling Potluck. It was wonderful for so many reasons and I am beyond happy that I went! Maggy and Pam from Three Many Cooks and Erika from Ivory Hut really know how to make everyone feel loved. I am so grateful they are my friends!

The weekend was filled with wonderful speakers, a walk through the avocado groves, an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, an amazing locale with breathtaking views, great food and, most importantly, time spent with good, good people. Now that I am inspired and energized, back to the blog!

As usual, reading through your menus from last week was such a help and inspiration. I am so grateful for all of you posting each week and being a part of this community! You know the drill…post your menu for the week, no matter how plain or fancy!

I hear you on getting sick of spaghetti. We have a girl who loves noodles too. Our Wednesday dish is my try at something different for noodles this week. I sometimes also like penne with grilled kielbasa and grilled veggies in it with a grilled lemon squeezed over, some evoo and fresh basil.

Glad you liked the Caesar wraps idea. My hub swears they’re best with croutons right inside and I think he’s right. The crunch just takes it over the top! I also add tomato, totally not Caesar I know, but I love it.

so here’s the story with this grove. yes, once the trees are full grown they do in fact touch one another. this grove was started in 2009, so now is about the time that would start to happen, but sadly they suffered a pretty serious wildfire since they planted all the trees – they lost a bunch of trees that they had to replant and the ones that you see pictured survived but lost all their leaves and had a recovery period. eventually they will grow to the point that there isn’t really space between them – the farmer can’t wait for that because he said he has to cut SO many weeds on a regular basis because the trees aren’t touching one another (he’s an organic farmer). anyway, long answer to your question! 🙂

I may be taking you too literally about spaghetti, but I love to use angel hair instead in dishes. My husband does not like though so I have to plan it for when he is out of town, which lately is almost all the time!

I do a pasta like Erika’s (but I usually add more veggies like green beans or peas) — it’s delicious and all the kids love it, even though they aren’t fond of lemon.

This week I officially have filled my legal pad with meal plans for the 14 months. It was kind of sad to get to the last page of it but great to look back at the things we’ve eaten over the last 14 months.

Looking forward to getting back to a routine again since we’ve had various family in town for the last two week, both my husband and I have traveled for work, and the kids had major school events going on. Time for calm!

Monday: Burgers on the grill, salads and pears. Tuesday: Taco bowls (like Chipotle). Wednesday: Grilled pesto chicken with roasted new potatoes and grilled zucchini and yellow squash. Thursday: Grilled sausages with that tomato, spinach and peas pasta (writing about it inspired me to make it). Friday: Philly portabello cheesesteaks with veggies to be determined.

PW’s Tomato Cream Pasta is really good! It’s even better with a breaded chicken cutlet, or panko crusted baked shrimp on top 🙂 And I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before; I made your Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos a while back and they were DELICIOUS! Sun: We had a BBQ: Smoked Ribs and Chicken, Cornbread Salad, Slow Cooker Pinto Beans, Potato Salad, Homemade Chipotle BBQ Sauce & Carolina BBQ Sauce, Strawberry-Rhubard Crumble Pie (The BF and I collaborated on this 🙂

I also am sooooo jealous of the Disneyland trip. We go to Disney World every yr, but never Disneyland. BooHoo. As for spaghetti I too am over it! Thankfully I planted a ton of basil and tomatoes in my garden.

My pasta idea is…seasoned sauteed shrimp in garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Throw in some sun dried or cherry tomatoes and some fresh garlic. Then whatever pasta you boil, don’t strain but lift it straight from the cook pot to the skillet with the shrimp goodies and stir. Then toss in some mozzerella pearls…. They just start to get soft from the heat on the pasta and season accordingly. My crew loves farfalle, fusilli, orechetti and penne. That was my Sunday meal.

So glad we finally had a chance to chat on the final bus ride Sunday! With our children all grown, the weekly menu is more flexible than it used to be! Luckily The Farmer brought home some grilled tri-tip to enjoy for lunch today, along with that yummy Kerrygold sweet cheddar cheese and avocados from our own groves. Hoping you’ll come visit someday! Our family farm is quite different from the groves we saw this weekend…40 years old and still moving forward! And if you wonder where baby avocados come from, or need to get a glimpse of Mother Nature at work, just visit me at Mimi Avocado! I’ll be stopping by to see you here…often! Xoxo

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Welcome to This Week for Dinner!

Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!

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